OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon
The OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon is a mobile suit first featured in Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. Originally piloted by Heero Yuy, it was later given to Zechs Merquise. Technology & Combat Characteristics Based on data from the Tallgeese and the other Gundams, the Gundam Epyon was created by Treize Khushrenada while he was placed under confinement by the Romefeller Foundation. In keeping with Treize's philosophy, the Epyon eschews cowardly long-range weapons in favor of chivalrous close combat. However, when the suit becomes a part of White Fang, a pair of vulcan guns are added to the head. Its main weapons are a segmented, whip-like heat rod mounted on a shield, and a powerful beam sword whose energy is supplied by a direct connection to the Epyon's generator. Treize also installed a modified version of the Zero System known as Epyon System in the cockpit, making this suit a powerful opponent. The Epyon can also transform into a "mobile armor" mode for high-speed flight and cruising in space. It resembles a mythological dragon in this mode, however its primary weapons are inaccessible save for the Epyon Claws which are also used as landing gear in this form. Gundam Epyon EW is Hajime Katoki's redesign of Epyon in similar fashion to other EW version of the first five Gundams and included in New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Frozen Teardrop as well as Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Endless Waltz: Glory of the Losers. It is later given additional equipment known as 'Sturm Und Drang' that can be used for both defense and offense. Armaments ;*Beam Sword :The primary weapon of the Epyon, it is connected directly to the suit's powerplant via a cord as opposed to running on its own internal power source. This allows the length and the intensity of the beam blade to be adjusted according to the situation, and at maximum level, it can inflict damage severe enough to destroy objects as large as the Space Fortress Bulge. ;*Epyon Claw :Mounted on the forearms, they are used as landing gear in MA Mode. In combat, they can be used to tear through enemy armor. ;*Epyon Shield :A small shield mounted on the left arm, its surface has been treated with anti-beam coating to provide protection against beam attacks. It mounts a heat rod at the bottom. :;*Heat Rod ::A segmented whip-like chain housed in Epyon's shield. It can be used to trip or entangle opponents, and even cut through mobile suits when heated. A single swipe with this weapon can destroy up to three OZ-06MS Leo. ;*Vulcan Gun :Added later, the pair of head-mounted shell firing weapons have a high-rate of fire, but little power and are generally ineffective against mobile suits. However, they can damage lightly armored areas such as the sensors, and are ideal for shooting down small, lightly armored targets such as missiles, small vehicles, etc. ;*Sturm Und Drang :An additional equipment used by Gundam Epyon after Zechs Merquise joins the White Fang in Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Endless Waltz: Glory of the Losers manga. These small wing-like devices use similar technology to OZ-13MSX2 Mercurius's planet defensors and can be either attached to Epyon's forearms in "Defense Mode", generating powerful defensive force field capable of blocking XXXG-00W0 Wing Gundam Zero's twin buster rifle, or attached to the beam sword in "Zweihander Mode" to generate a massive beam blade. When using this equipment, the Epyon Shield is mounted on the rear skirt armor. Special Equipment & Features ;*Epyon System :Treize had a modified version of the deadly ZERO System installed in Epyon's cockpit. The system operated the same as the one in the XXXG-00W0 Wing Gundam Zero, but Epyon's had the pilot wear a special helmet on their head. The modified version is known as the Epyon System. Any technical differences compared to the ZERO System is unknown. Zechs also used a modified version of this system to control the White Fang Mobile Dolls. ;*Search Eye :Mounted on the chest, it for gathering data that the cameras and antennas cannot. Used in close combat, it is of the same type as the Shenlong Gundam's. History Late in the year AC 195 Treize Khushrenada was relieved of his duties as the Commander of OZ and was placed under house-arrest. Treize had been intrigued by the Gundams and their pilots and so designed a Gundam which he called Epyon. Treize had a highly developed sense of honor and so designed the suit to be a "dueling" mobile suit, equipping it with short range weaponry only. Treize was also able to equip the Epyon's cockpit with the Zero System. Treize had hoped that a Gundam pilot would come forth to pilot the suit, particularly Heero Yuy. Thus, Treize presented the Epyon Gundam to the Gundam Pilot Heero Yuy, when Heero had sought him out with the intention of assassinating him. Heero however, did not kill Treize and accepted the Epyon. After boarding the mobile suit, Treize warned Heero not to be a 'winner' when piloting it, meaning that achieving victory should not be on his mind, only the fighting itself. When the Romefeller Foundation launched an invasion of the Sanc Kingdom, Heero piloted the Epyon into battle. Having not yet mastered the Zero System, however, Heero suffered a near-nervous breakdown and fled the battle. Relena's brother, Zechs Merquise, arrived in the XXXG-00W0 Wing Gundam Zero having heard of the invasion, but was too late. Zechs and Heero dueled in the Wing Zero and Epyon respectively, and fought themselves to a stalemate. Unable to determine a victory using their Zero Systems, both combatants ceased. The two exchanged suits with Heero taking the Wing Zero and Zechs taking the Epyon. Soon after, Zechs began piloting Epyon the group known as the White Fang rose out of the ashes of the Treize Faction and claimed that they had been charged with defending the Colonies. The chief of the White Fang, Quinze, approached Zechs and offered him the leadership of the White Fang. Zechs accepted, using his birthname Milliardo Peacecraft, and continued to pilot the Epyon against the forces of the new Earth Sphere Unified Nation. Zechs flew Epyon against the Gundam Pilots in the final battle of the war in December of AC 195. In this battle, Zechs in Epyon, once again challenged Heero Yuy in the Wing Zero. The two fought on and around the gigantic space station Libra. The battle was once again a stalemate as they had reached the last surviving section of Libra, which was falling towards the Earth. Taking the fight inside Libra itself, the two fought until Epyon's left arm was severed, giving Heero a decisive win (in the terms of a duel, this would count as drawing first blood). As Heero/Wing Zero was about to self-destruct to finish the section of Libra off for good, Zechs convinced Heero to leave and he used Epyon to destroy the reactor which powered that section of the station. Both Zechs and Epyon were presumed to have been lost in the explosion. New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Frozen Teardrop In Mars Colony 0022 NEXT WINTER, the Epyon resurfaces, piloted once again by the leader of the revolting Lanigreen Republic, Zechs and engages in battle with the piloted by Chang Wufei. The left arm has been rebuilt and twin beam cannons are added. It is referred to as the Epyon Ares. Variants ;*Epyon Kaiser ;*Epyon Bai :Also known as "Nataku". It is a customized white colored Epyon developed and piloted by Chang Wufei in New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Frozen Teardrop. It also has new weaponry. ;*Epyon Ares :In New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Frozen Teardrop, the Epyon was reconstructed by the Lanigreen Republic and a pair of twin beam cannons were added to the legs (head portion in MA mode). These beam cannons are operable only in MA Mode and improves that mode's combat capabilities. In Other Media Gundam Build Fighters *A custom Epyon Gunpla appears in episode 11 shows allusion to the GF13-011NC Dragon Gundam in its color scheme, and has Dragon Gundam's Dragon Claws mounted on its feet. Due to this last modification, it has a more dragon-like Mobile Armor mode, and each Dragon Claws can shoot beams when their mouths open. Gundam Video Games *An overwhelming Epyon can be found in the first Gundam Wing video game, Gundam Wing: Endless Duel ''(SNES). *Epyon is a playable unit in ''Gundam vs Gundam Next Plus and Gundam Musou series. *In Gundam Battle Assault 2 and SD Gundam G Generation 3D, Epyon is piloted by its designer, Treize Khushrenada. Crossover Video Games *It's playable in the 1st Another Century's Episode. *The Epyon is Zechs' primary Mobile Suit in the Dynasty Warriors Gundam series. *It can also be used in Super Robot Wars 64 (As a secret unit) and Super Robot Wars D. In The 2nd Super Robot Wars Z Chapter Regeneration and Super Robot Wars Alpha, only temporary access to the Epyon is allowed (while it was piloted by Heero), and it ultimately has to be fought as a boss. In many of these games, the Epyon demonstrates the unusual ability to lengthen its blade to such a degree, such as in Z2 that it is considered a MAP weapon of comparable size to the Wing Zero's Rolling Buster Rifle attack. *''Emperor Epyon'' is the leader of Satan Darkness Corps, the main villain in the crossover action game The Great Battle VI. As the series' standard, Epyon (as well as other MS) is a sentient robot in this game. He's cruel, notable when he forces three of his lieutenants (Tallgeese, Powered Baltan, and Shadow Moon) to merge into a single monster as punishment for their failure to defeat the protagonists. In the climax of story, Epyon summons Evil Dragon God Inferios to destroy the heroes, only to be devoured by Inferios first. Picture Gallery OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon Front View Lineart.jpg|Line art (front) OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon Back View Lineart.jpg|Line art (rear) epyon-katoki1.jpg|Gundam Epyon EW line art (front) 009.jpg|Gundam Epyon EW line art (rear) Epyon-defense.jpg|Gundam Epyon EW's Sturm Und Drang's Defense Mode Epyon-zwei.jpg|Gundam Epyon EW's Sturm Und Drang's Zweihander Mode EpyonMobileArmor.png EpyonHeadCloseup.png EpyonEp34.png GBF 11 - Cziommer's Allies.jpg|Custom Gundam Epyon with "Team NTR" (Gundam Build Fighters) epyon0.jpg|In Gundam Perfect file 34527EGW56.jpg|With Gundam Epyon White (W Concierge) Epyon vs. Epyon White.jpg|Vs. Gundam Epyon White Epyon 3234231434.jpg|With WF-02MD Virgo II and Libra EyponandAquarius.jpg|Gundams Epyon and Aquarius Manga Wing (550).jpg|Gundam Epyon (Heero Yuy) vs Wing Gundam Zero (Zechs Merquise) as seen on The Glory of Losers (GoL) epyonsystem-GOL.jpg|Epyon System activated (GoL) zeroVSepyon-GOL.jpg|Vs Wing Zero (GoL) Game gundam_musou_3_conceptart_d0L1N.jpg|As featured in Gundam Musou 3 Gundam Epyon.jpg|As featured in SD Gundam G Generation Overworld Gundam Epyon EW.jpg|Gundam Epyon (EW Ver.) as featured in SD Gundam G Generation Overworld 103221.jpg|As featured in Gundam War card game Gundam Combat 17.jpeg|Gundam Combat WS202001.jpg|As featured in Gundam Cross War ms_modal_unit_gw_06.png|As seen on the game Gundam Diorama Front 3rd. SD Gundam G Generation Crossrays Gundam Epyon.jpg|''SD Gundam G Generation Crossrays'' Gunpla EpyonBox.jpg|1/144 Original OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon (1995): box art WF10 Gundam Epyon.jpg|1/144 Original OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon (Re-issue; 2000): box art OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon - Boxart.jpg|1/100 HG Gundam Wing OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon (1995): box art Mg-epyon.jpg|1/100 MG "OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon (EW Ver.)" (2011): box art SDGG-47-GundamEpyon.jpg|SDGG OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon (2000): box art Action Figures MSiA_oz-13ms_p01_HongKong.jpg|Mobile Suit in Action (MSiA / MIA) "OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon" (Hong Kong release; 2001): package front view MSiA_oz-13ms_p02_USA.jpg|MSiA / MIA "OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon" (North American release; 2000): package front view MSiA_oz-13ms-2ndVer_p01_Asian.jpg|MSiA / MIA "OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon (Second version)" (Asian release; 2003): package front view MSiA_oz-13ms-2ndVer_p02_USA.jpg|MSiA / MIA "OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon (Second version)" (North American release; 2003): package front view RobotDamashii_oz-13ms_p01.jpg|Robot Damashii OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon (2012): package front view Notes and Trivia *Epyon's head mounted vulcan guns are a controversial weapon as they are not on the armaments list when the suit debuted. Their presence was hinted in episode 49 during a battle between Epyon and Wing Zero as they flew through the corridors of the collapsing Battleship Libra. Wing Zero fired its vulcan guns at Epyon and then vulcan fire was returned from Epyon's direction. There were no other suits in the area. At that time, this was often considered to be an animation error although some fans speculated it to be a late modification to the suit. There was no mention of the vulcan guns in data books and Gundam related encyclopedia for a long time until the Gundam Perfect File series of data books show images of the vulcan guns mounted in the suit's head and explains their origin. *The Epyon transforms similarly to the RX-139 Hambrabi. References External links *OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon on MAHQ.net ja:OZ-13MS ガンダムエピオン